Rotary engine



3 Sheets (No Model.)

BIRD,

ROTARY ENGINE.

Patented Nov. 24, 1885.

th e W (No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

0. S. BIRD.

ROTARY ENGINE. No. 331,224. Patented Nov. 24. 1885.

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UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

CHARLES S. BIRD, OF ELYRIA, OHIO.

ROTARYENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 331,224, dated November24:, 1885.

Application filed March 1'7, 1883. Serial No. 88,627. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. BIRD, of Elyria, in the county of Lorainand State of Ohio, have invented new and useful Improvements in RotaryEngines, of which the following is a specification.

The nature and objects of these improvements will fully appear from thesubj oined description, when considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figurelisaside elevation. Fig.2isareverse side elevation. Fig. 3 is a top view. Fig. 4: is an endview. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 6 is a transversesection. Fig. 7 is a section in line 7 7 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, A is a cylinder having one head cast with it,and said head having an annular flange, a, and an internal hub, a. Saidflangea is nearly half the depth of the cylinder, while the hub is aboutonethird the depth.

B is a head having an internal hub, 12, cast with it, which is alsoone-third the depth. A ring, 12, the size and diameter of the flange a,is attached to the head, fitting in an annular groove, D in the insideface of said head, and is provided with a spring, a. This flange a andring I) divide the interior of the cylinder into two chambers andrelieve the shaft D from the load caused by the pressure of the steam asthe steam presses against the outer shell or cylinder, A, and flange aand ring I), the outer chamber being designed for the rotating piston.

O is a disk having a hub, c, keyed or fixed on a shaft, D, which fillsthe one-third space and revolves between the aforesaid hubs a and b. Thediameter of said disk 0 is equal to the outer diameter of said ring I)and flange a, and it revolves between them. Their edges, which are incontact with the disk, are provided with small grooves a", intended tofill with condensation, to prevent steam from passing and to lubricatebetween the surfaces of the disk and rings. The said disk 0 has an arma", to which is attached a piston-plate, O, fitting in the outer chamberin the said cylinder A and in which it travels. At one side of saidcylinder Ais made a chamber, E, connected with the aforesaid outerchamber in cylinder A, in which is placed a sliding'plate, F. Attachedto said plate F is a rod, G, working through a stuffing-box, g. Saidplate is made to recede into the said chamber E by mechanism operatingthe rod G once in each and every revolution of the said disk 0 tolet'the piston pass, and immediately return again when it has passed.Said plate F plays in grooves f in the inside surface of thecylinder-heads and annular rings. Above the chamber E is located thevalve'chamber H, in which 'is placed a round piston-valve, I, having arod, 2', operated by an outside mechanism, herein after described.

O is the exhaust-port.

Upon the shaft D, at one side of the cylinder A, is placed a cam-groovedwheel, W, with groove in the side having a hub, 10, having a groove, T,in its periphery for securing a connecting-rod, J. To the side of thechamber E is attached an arm, K, supporting a rock-shaft, L, having acrank, L, to which said connecting-rod J is attached. Said rock-shaftalso has a crank, L", attached to the aforesaid rod G, said rod G beingsupported at its outer end by a bracket, G. This comprises the mechanismfor operating the before-mentioned plate F. Upon the shaft D, on theopposite side of the cylinder A, is placed an eccentric, M, having aconnecting-rod, M, operating a second rock-shaft, N, supported by anarm, N, attached to the side of chamber E. The joint of saidconnecting-rod M is made adj ustable with the crank N of the rockshaftN. Said rock-shaft N also has a crank, N", connected with and operatingthe valve-rod i of valve I.

To the side of the cylinder A is attached a bracket, Q, supporting avertical shaft, P, the upper end of which carries a governor, P. Thelower end of said shaft is provided with a bevel-pinion, p, meshing withand operated by a bevel-gear, p, on the shaft D.

To the side of the chamber E is attached a post, Q, to the top of whichis pivoted a lever, B, one end of which is connected with the governor,the other end having two dependingrods, 1- r, the lower ends of whichhave wedges, S S, that play in a slot in the end of the rod M. These arefor regulating the movement of the valve by the governor, as hereinaftershown. The portions of the shaft D which pass through the boxes in thecylinder A are made slightly tapering, and the boxes are made largeenough to contain a tapering sleeve, d, the purpose of which is toadjust the bearings in case of wear. Longitu'dinally through the valve Iis made an opening, t", for the purpose of allowing any steam which mayget into the space at the ends of the valve to pass through, and thusavoid obstruction to the movements of the valve.

In the stuffing-box g is made a chamber with a shoulder at the innerend, but leaving a little space around the rod G, to allow steam toenter and bear against a packing-ring, g, which forms a moving bottom inthe stuffingbox which compresses the packing (by the scribed mechanismfor that purpose.

the plate F is moved back and forth, so the plate is easily moved.

The operation of this is as follows: Steam is admitted through the portinto chamber E. It passes thence through space 6 into cylinder, theplate F forming a barrier to the steam it carries the piston 0 around,and when it has passed by the exhaust-port the plate F is withdrawn bythe described mechanism for that purpose and then the piston passes, andthen the plate is pushed back in again. Before the piston has reachedthe exhaust-port, however, the steam has been out off by the de- Thiscut-off may be made to take place at a half or other proportionate partof a revolution, and the balance of the revolution made by the expansionof the steam. This is regulated by the adjustable joint on the end ofrod M. The governor regulates the speed through the medium of the wedgesS S in the same joint, the movements of said wedges so changing themovements of the valve-crank as to cause the cut-off of the valvessooner or later, as the circumstances may require.

Each head of the cylinder A is provided with a groove, f, in whichoperates the slide F, and said grooves serve to make a steamtight jointwhich will at all times serve to assist the impacting of the steambetween the said slide and the pistonarm 0 as seen in Fig. 7.

Having described my invention, I claim as follows:

1. In a rotary engine, substantially as described, the inner wall of thesteam-chamber, formed of the rings a and b,which, being supported by thecasing A, relieve the mainshaft D of the heavy weight occasioned inordinary rotary engines by the downward pressure of the steam againstthe piston-drum, as and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a rotary engine, the cylinder A, and

rings a and I), having annular grooves a in combination with the disk 0,piston O, and

abutment F, forthe purpose set forth.

3. In a rotary engine, the cylinder A and ringsa and b, in combinationwith the annular groove b disk 0, piston G, abutment F, and shaft D, forthe purpose set forth.

4. In a rotary engine the cylinder A and rings a and 12 in combinationwith the spring 1)", annular groove b disk 0, piston G, and abutment F,for the purpose set forth.

5. In a rotary engine, the cylinder A, having grooves f, in combinationwith the abutment F, the rings a and b, removable head B, annular grooveb disk 0, and piston G, for the purpose herein set forth.

6. In a rotary engine, the pist0n-valve I, having aperture 6, incombination with the piston-rod i, and rock-shaft N, and crank N for thepurposes herein set forth.

CHAS. s. BIRD.

\Vitnesses:

E. W. LAIRD,

J. F. POND.

